Carson City Supervisors OK contract for downtown roundabout sculpture with variations

Carson City Supervisors voted to approve a contract with artist Karen Yank for a downtown gateway roundabout sculpture on Carson Street.

Discussions surrounded traffic safety, symbolism, and why public art is being discussed when the road budget is in disarray.

Funding

There were several public comments speaking not to the art chosen for the sculpture — but the existence of the sculpture itself. Many asked the same question: with our roads in disrepair, why isn’t this money going toward fixing potholes?

This question comes up any time funding is allocated towards art and culture, whether that be murals, festivals, or public art.

However, the answer always remains the same: the money for these projects typically can only be used for these projects, whether it be due to grant funding, specific taxes, money dedicated by citizen committees, or in this case, a mix of all of the above.

According to City Manager Nancy Paulson, the idea for a Downtown Gateway Sign originated 2017 after the Downtown Corridor Project was completed. The Downtown Redevelopment Committee initially envisioned a grand entryway sign at the roundabout at Stewart and South Carson Street, welcoming visitors and locals alike to the newly improved downtown sector.

At the time, $30,000 was dedicated by the committee for the signage.

However, in 2018, during the design of the Complete Streets Project, the committee voted to approve allocating the funding to incorporate the downtown gateway signage into the South Carson Street project design, and eventually the roundabout became the landing place for the gateway.

In 2023, the committee recommended allocating another more funding to the project, which was approved by the Redevelopment Authority and the Board of Supervisors, bringing the total funding to $125,000.

This is the sticking point with some citizens: this is a lot of money for public art, so why not choose instead to put it into the sorely lacking roads budget?

Simply: they can’t.

Funding comes from the taxes of property owners within the redevelopment areas and is restricted specifically to redevelopment, rehabilitation and revitalization within the boundaries of those areas. This is why the downtown facade improvement project, new Carson Street lighting, and other projects reached completion in the sector so quickly.

Another $75,000 was donated to the project by the Carson Tourism Authority (CTA), bringing the total to $200,000. These funds originate from room tax, and similarly can only be used for tourism, culture, and redevelopment.

“All of the expenses are accounted for in the redevelopment fund,” Paulson added.

Some public commenters stated they were concerned that having an art sculpture in the roundabout could lead to distracted driving and crashes.

However, according to Carson City Parks and Recreation’s Anna Freeman, the concern is misplaced as there have been numerous studies done not only on the safety of roundabouts themselves, but on artwork placed within roundabouts.

Freeman said that including artwork within roundabouts actually increases roundabout safety and proper utilization. For example, in Switzerland, it is required by law to have something in the center of a roundabout to bar driver’s from seeing straight across the intersection.

“You’re not supposed to drive straight through so that’s not the way drivers need to be looking,” Freeman explained. “The sight lines are applicable in order to safely yield to get into and out of the roundabout.”

Freeman said that there were stipulations in place for artists to avoid any safety concerns within the roundabout, such as not including any reflective surfaces.

“Having something large and visible warns driver’s that there is (a roundabout) coming up, and that it’s not just a straight through intersection,” Freeman added.

Feedback

Overall, supervisors viewed the work positively, and asked for slight variations within the art.

Mayor Lori Bagwell asked whether or not Yank would be willing to switch out the tree for a more Carson City-centric tree.

Yank said she would be more than willing to discuss altering any portion of the design. “Public art is collaborative.”

Supervisor Stacey Giomi said that the official Carson City tree is the Jeffrey Pine or the Cottonwood, either of which may make a good choice.

“A cottonwood is a very distinctive tree,” Giomi said.

He also commended Yank for the time spent on her research to determined what was important to the community.

“I think on the whole you completely nailed it,” he added.

Supervisor Lisa Scheutte asked if it would be possible to adjust the mountain ranges and the Capitol dome to more accurately reflect our local silhouettes.

“In Carson City we have a lovely community and there is so much to choose from, and I know it must have been such a difficult decision,” Schuette said.

Supervisor Curtis Horton said he liked every aspect of the sculpture, and during his polls of the community, he received far more positive than negative comments.

Supervisor Maurice White brought up issues he’d found with the process, namely that there was not enough information provided with the applications regarding the artists’ backgrounds and resumes.

“I’m particularly disturbed that the Ad Hoc committee used scoring criteria that did not consider the five goals of this project,” White added, but did not elaborate on further.

He said that the process needs to be “tightened up,” and that staff became “buried” during the applications process.

As to the art itself, White said he appreciated all of the pieces that came before the committee, and that while he believes Yank is a talented artist, this sculpture “misses the mark.”

“I don’t think it meets the goals,” he said. “Not to be derogatory but I want to go through why it doesn’t meet our goals.”

White proceeded to go through every aspect of Yank’s artist statement line by line to discuss why he either did not personally agree with her choices or did not agree with her interpretations of Carson City symbolism.

White said that because the Capitol dome, the mountains and the eagle are “routinely” used to depict Carson City, it did not make the piece “unique to Carson City,” which was goal one.

He said the elements of the history chosen reflect state and federal history in the region, instead of Carson City’s history, and that the inclusion of the eagle is used as a metaphor rather than an official symbol of Carson City.

White said that he does like the piece, and he would put it on his own property, but as a piece for the city at large he does not agree with it.

Moving forward

Bagwell asked Yank what she believed the time frame would be for the final design.

Yank said she would begin on modifications immediately and could bring back multiple options for supervisors to choose from.

“I know it was important for the committee that we would install it this summer,” Yank said. “If I’m under contract by the beginning of January, I can possibly install in the beginning of June.”

Yank said she has already done a lot of legwork as far as finding engineers to begin the process of designing and pouring the base the sculpture would sit on.

Schuette said she was concerned about voting yes on the artist contract without seeing the final design.

However, Bagwell pointed out that artists need to be under contract in order to provide final design.

The board voted 3-2 to approve the contract with Yank, which will include the final design returning for final approval.